They went back and forth for a while, until someone decided the best way to settle it was out on the field.

What some people remember about that day 12 years ago is not that Hampton won the race, but that almost no one around the Astros was surprised.

Hampton was 24 at the time, young and gifted and a little full of himself. There was nothing he couldn’t do.

Hampton smiles at the memory. Plenty has happened since he and Chuckie Carr lined up against one another.

“I probably challenged a lot of guys back then,” he said.

There’s a different Mike Hampton back with the Astros this spring after a decade away. This Mike Hampton won’t be challenging anyone to race.

“This is a place I’ve had success and enjoyed,” he said. “The fans are great. The community is awesome. I have a lot of great memories.”

He’s 36 and coming off a two-month stretch in which he showed the world he might have something left in the tank.

Before that, his baseball life was a mess. At least, the part of his baseball life that has to do with pitching and getting people out.

Financially, he cleaned up. When the Rockies signed him to an eight-year, $121 million contract after the 2000 season, it was the largest deal any pitcher had gotten.

He spent two nightmarish seasons in Colorado, unable to cope with the expectations or thin air.

Then his body began to fall apart. He has had two elbow surgeries and an assortment of injuries to his legs and chest. There was a time he wondered if he would pitch again.

And then, in the middle of last season, Hampton finally got back to the mound and looked a lot like the guy that challenged Chuckie Carr to a race.

He rolled up a 3.72 ERA in his last nine starts, had good movement on his fastball, decent bite on his slider and a changeup as good as anyone’s.

Great expectations

This is the Mike Hampton the Astros are hoping they’re getting in 2009. This is the lefthander they’re counting on.

“I felt comfortable again and was able to get back into a rhythm,” he said. “I showed myself I still had the stuff to get people out. I felt like I could continue to do this. My last three or four starts, I felt like I hadn’t skipped a beat.”

He hasn’t pitched a full season in four years, missing all of 2006 and 2007 and parts of 2005 and 2008.

“Our pro scouts saw all of his starts the second half of the season,” Astros general manager Ed Wade said. “We thought the health issues had been resolved.”

Difference maker

He might be the difference between the Astros making and missing the playoffs. It’s not that simple, though, because they do have unproven options behind him.

Not one of them has done the things Hampton has done. Between 1997 and 2001, he averaged 17 victories and 219 innings.

He’s a two-time All-Star and finished second in the National League Cy Young Award voting in 1999. He has five Silver Slugger awards for being the best offensive player at his position and won a Gold Glove in 2003.

Beyond the pure stuff is a bulldog mentality that has won the respect of teammates and foes alike.

“You know you’re going to get 100 percent from him, and that’s a great attribute to have,” Astros pitching coach Dewey Robinson said. “He’s had a lot of bad luck, bad breaks. Hopefully, he’s over it.”

Hampton never expected things to work out this way, never thought at 36 he’d need to prove himself all over again.

Let’s be honest about why he’s here. The Astros signed him because he was affordable. Their original blueprint was to re-sign Randy Wolf and trade closer Jose Valverde.

When Wade was unable to find another closer, he reversed course and decided to keep Valverde and end negotiations with Wolf. He looked for affordable starting pitching, and there was Hampton, willing to accept a base salary of $2 million.

Train smarter, not harder

The Astros are trusting him to train smart this spring, to know when to push his body and when to back off.

“The biggest thing for me is to push it as far as I can without going over the line,” he said. “I’ve always pushed. I have to learn to pull back a little more.”

It would make a nice little story to have Hampton return to a place in which he spent his five happiest and most successful seasons.

“I probably took it for granted when I was here before,” he said. “I realize now I’m lucky to be able to do this. Every start means a little more than it used to.”